How to hire a manufacturing director

How to hire a manufacturing director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step manufacturing director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a manufacturing director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new manufacturing director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a manufacturing director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your manufacturing director job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a manufacturing director for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a manufacturing director to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a manufacturing director that fits the bill.

   This list presents manufacturing director salaries for various positions.

   Type of Manufacturing Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Manufacturing Director	Industrial production managers oversee the daily operations of manufacturing and related plants. They coordinate, plan, and direct the activities used to create a wide range of goods, such as cars, computer equipment, or paper products.	$48-102
   Production Control Manager	A project control manager is an executive who manages, develops, and coordinates the schedules of production in the industrial environment. Production control managers make sure of the flow of parts, materials, and assemblies within or between departments... Show more	$25-70
   Value Stream Manager	A value stream manager is responsible for monitoring supply chain management operations and enhancing logistics performance to prevent operational delays and minimize waste loss. Value stream managers determine the strengths and weaknesses of every process within the supply chain and identify opportunities that would increase efficiency and growth, delivering high-quality outputs, and generating more resources for revenues... Show more	$37-71

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Continuous Improvement
   • Supply Chain
   • Lean Manufacturing
   • Sigma
   • On-Time Delivery
   • Project Management
   • R
   • GMP
   • Product Quality
   • Product Development
   • Quality Standards
   • Lean Six Sigma
   • Logistics
   • ISO

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage quality inspection, production control, inventory, procurement, facilities, product sales, support and ISO compliance functions.
   • Manage OEM manufacturer for product assembly and internal manufacturing for product customization.
   • Interact with QA and other support groups to resolve technical and GMP issues in manufacturing.
   • Develop an in-house bar code scanning system as part of DMAIC measurement phase to compile shop floor data.
   • Administer action plans and follow-up, PDCA.
   • Develop and maintain specifications for products, while monitoring QA.

   More manufacturing director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your manufacturing director job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A manufacturing director salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a manufacturing director in Louisiana may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level manufacturing director usually earns less than a senior-level manufacturing director. Additionally, a manufacturing director with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average manufacturing director salary

   $147,277yearly

   $70.81 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level manufacturing director salary

   $100,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average manufacturing director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$179,655	$86
   2	Oregon	$163,039	$78
   3	Washington	$159,133	$77
   4	North Carolina	$154,556	$74
   5	Nevada	$149,461	$72
   6	Michigan	$147,045	$71
   7	New Jersey	$146,156	$70
   8	New York	$145,219	$70
   9	Ohio	$144,787	$70
   10	Illinois	$143,730	$69
   11	Massachusetts	$143,567	$69
   12	Wisconsin	$141,377	$68
   13	Oklahoma	$138,324	$67
   14	Texas	$137,711	$66
   15	Colorado	$129,891	$62
   16	Georgia	$128,801	$62
   17	Virginia	$126,323	$61
   18	Florida	$125,367	$60
   19	Alabama	$124,475	$60
   20	Pennsylvania	$122,678	$59

   Average manufacturing director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Nationwide Children's Hospital	$202,312	$97.27
   2	Tesla	$199,573	$95.95	13
   3	Lucid Motors	$196,517	$94.48	24
   4	Ford Motor	$194,480	$93.50	68
   5	SRG Global	$190,831	$91.75
   6	Helix Electric	$186,741	$89.78
   7	Nike	$184,847	$88.87	3
   8	Tonix Pharmaceuticals	$184,693	$88.79
   9	Zscaler	$184,398	$88.65
   10	Emergent BioSolutions	$184,321	$88.62
   11	VadaTech	$181,446	$87.23
   12	Monster Products	$180,339	$86.70
   13	NOV	$177,315	$85.25	6
   14	Eurofins	$173,585	$83.45	20
   15	Peet's Coffee	$171,861	$82.63
   16	Shiseido	$171,059	$82.24
   17	Stoughton Trailers	$171,027	$82.22	3
   18	Veeam Software	$170,886	$82.16
   19	Buffalo Rock	$170,378	$81.91
   20	Weber International Packaging LLC	$170,126	$81.79	3

4. Writing a manufacturing director job description

   A job description for a manufacturing director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a manufacturing director job description:

   Manufacturing director job description example

   Do you want to work for a global company that creates remarkable experiences through people, products, and food? If you want to be part of a rewarding People First culture that values relationships, trust, and taking the long view, then this is the place for you. Henny Penny was named the 2021 Dayton Business of the Year for many good reasons. Read on to learn more!
   As Director of Manufacturing you will set policies and make decisions guiding productivity, quality, safety, and cost efficiency for the plant operations. You will identify and approve manufacturing plans and production schedules meant to increase profit while reducing overhead. Maintain a focus on the production workforce with goal of maintaining being a Best Place to Work.
   
   What We Offer
   An opportunity to work for a company that is 100% employee-owned. As an employee-owner, you will be enrolled in our employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) program following one year of service. This is a qualified retirement plan that is separate from your 401k and consists only of Henny Penny shares that will be paid out when you retire (or when you leave the company, but we hope you'll stay!) Annual company performance bonus in addition to base salary Flexibility to work from home 2 days per week Defined career paths so you'll always know what's next and what steps can get where you want to go Professional development opportunities including tuition reimbursement and unlimited free access to LinkedIn Learning courses A competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with company match, PTO, and paid holidays Onsite wellness clinic offering preventive care services such as wellness screenings, annual physicals, and related lab work at no cost to employee-owners Activities including department outings, holiday parties, and our annual company-wide Thanksgiving Dinner
   What You'll Be Doing
   Ensures robust plant safety and security procedures and training are in place and that operations are in compliance with all required training and regulations. Leads and directs plant operations through a team of subordinate managers to execute the HP 2.0 Production System w/ ownership - Safety, Quality, Delivery and Cost (SQDC) Define and deploy manufacturing strategy with MFG Engineering team, Supply chain, Quality & Regulatory in line with HP Corporate Vision and Strategy Owns and drives a continuous improvement/lean strategy that will ensure best in class manufacturing operations and KPI's. Collaborates with Manufacturing and Lean engineering to identify manufacturing processes that will benefit from lean optimization and drives the implementation of identified changes. Develops and ensures manufacturing budget and forecasting achieves the financial objectives outlined by the HP strategy. Review monthly financial performance against budget, cost, re-work, scrap - adjust accordingly Monitor day-to-day operations and processes and review against key metrics to ensure the efficiency of the manufacturing group including employee productivity and training. Modifies employee schedules or staffing plans to reduce labor costs while meeting output expectations Consistently models the Company Values and Expected Behaviors Other duties as assigned.
   What We're Looking For
   BA/BS in Engineering, Ops Management, or Business. Master's degree preferred. 15+ years exp in engineering, operations, and manufacturing environment - high mix/ low volume Experience in metal fabrication and assembly Minimum 5+ years of leadership in operations and multi-site plant management Successful in communicating with all levels within a matrixed organization as well as customer facing meetings. Demonstrated success in P&L management for business units > $300M revenue Experience and success in Lean, 5S, 6 Sigma, etc. to drive continuous improvement Effective problem solver and possess excellent ability to multitask. Ability to collaborate within a team environment, as well as work independently without management oversight in a fast-paced and dynamic environment is critical.
   About Us
   
   We're known in our industry for making the best commercial food equipment in the world. Every day, millions of people eat in restaurants operating Henny Penny equipment. We're a behind-the-scenes engine in the world's most demanding kitchens, including long-term partners like McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, KFC, and Wendy's. We're 1,000+ employee-owners who thrive by living a People First mission: to support employees in becoming the best version of themselves both personally and professionally.
   
   We recently completed the largest expansion in our history with the addition of 150,000 square feet on our Eaton campus. This expansion drives development of the world's most reliable, easy-to-use equipment with an innovative new space for global research and development. We have several collaborative spaces for our project teams, a dedicated electrical engineering lab for our hardware and software engineers, a full model shop for rapid prototyping, and a brand-new test lab that has 300 feet of hood space to test new equipment on our product roadmap. On top of that, we have a new state-of-the-art kitchen for our food science group to meet with our customers, understand what they need, and then dial in our equipment to help them make legendary menu items.
   
   Henny Penny is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability or handicap, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and pregnancy-related conditions), marital status, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity or expression (including transgender status), or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right manufacturing director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your manufacturing director job on Zippia to find and recruit manufacturing director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with manufacturing director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new manufacturing director

   Once you've decided on a perfect manufacturing director candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new manufacturing director. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a manufacturing director?